Untouchable (The Blankenships Book 8) Read Online Free PDF Page A

any Uzbek. They might find people who spoke English who were willing to help them for pay, but for him to access any funds would mean revealing himself to anyone who was tracking them back in the United States, and that was the whole purpose of fleeing to Leo’s safe house and not his own.
     
    As much as it grated, the only possible solution right now was to follow Leo down the ramp stairs, stand fast, and hope like hell that his friend could get them out of this situation.
     
    Zoey’s hand was even tighter in his; even if she had no idea what was going on, she was probably aware of the nervousness that was pouring off himself and Leo. He wanted to turn to her, reassure her, but that was even more likely than usual to be a lie.
     
    Breathe, he told himself and tried like hell to follow his own instructions. Just breathe .
     
    They stepped onto the tarmac, Leo first, moving to the right to allow Zoey and Alex room to descend after him, though he carefully positioned himself between the big man, taking up the shadows and the two Americans. The man spoke in Russian, his syllables blurring far too fast for Alex to pick anything out.
     
    “Hello, Father,” Leo said in English.
     
    Alex heard Zoey gasp beside him as she tucked herself a little closer to Alex’s side apparently without even thinking about it. He squeezed her hand one more time and tried to remember to breathe. It was all that he could do.

 
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Even though she’d slept on the long flight, it hadn’t been the sort of sleep that led to actual rest. After Alex had given her the ereader, she’d lost herself in the silly delight of a regency romance novel, the kind of thing she indulged in when she was at home, curled up in a blanket on her couch or relaxing in a bath. She’d been able to curl up on the plane and almost pretend that she was back there again.
     
    But the plane had landed, and everything here looked so different. She couldn’t put her finger on why exactly. Small airports and landing strips were basically the same, no matter where you went, so she assumed it had to have something to do with the light as it filtered down over them, or the lack of it; night was falling fast.
     
    As they stepped off the plane, their one bag slung over Alex’s shoulder, she felt the exact moment when everything went to hell.
     
    She’d seen the three men standing in the shadows of the plane’s wing. Two of them wore sunglasses, even in the dark, and had their arms crossed with their hands resting in front of their groins, the universal pose of bodyguards everywhere, apparently. The third, though. He was something else, even in the dim light. He was massive, for one thing. Leo was big, but this man would dwarf him. For another, even in total stillness, hands stuffed in his pockets, he was a walking threat. Every line of his body seemed to imply that violence would occur at any moment.
     
    But they weren’t coming here to hang out with Scouts or anything; they were fleeing dangerous people and hoping that other dangerous people would protect them. She assumed that these were Leo’s dangerous people.
     
    But then Leo’s step faltered, and panic rose through her in a wave. The only reason for him to falter was if he saw something he didn’t expect, which meant that the plan was not being followed. That something was wrong.
     
    Alex’s hand squeezed hers in something painfully close to a convulsion. She glanced at him, and his eyes were already on her. The look he gave her was probably supposed to be reassuring, but really, he just looked like he might be sick. His eyes darted all around, but his hesitation was barely noticeable, and he led her down the ramp stairs in Leo’s wake. It made her stomach twist to follow, but she couldn’t think of anything else to do either.
     
    When the huge man spoke to Leo, and Leo responded by calling him father, she felt her body go loose with fear. She couldn’t pinpoint why, not in that